Overview
- The outbreak, declared on May 15, began in Ituri and has produced more than 1,000 suspected cases and over 200 deaths, with infections now confirmed in Uganda.
- WHO Director-General Tedros traveled to Bunia to press for a ceasefire and the WHO reported the first patient discharged after two negative tests.
- The United States pledged an additional $80 million, bringing U.S. support to $112 million, and EU and UNICEF shipments have reached Bunia while Africa CDC says pledged funding has fallen to about $290 million from near $500 million.
- Ongoing armed fighting has displaced roughly 100,000 people, blocked access to health centers and disrupted contact tracing, isolation and treatment in densely populated and displaced-person settings.
- Several experimental vaccines and therapies are being evaluated but remain months from wide use, so immediate control relies on rapid case detection, strict patient isolation and three-week contact monitoring while funding, security and trial approvals are watched closely.